With beta just around the corner, we thought that now would be the best time to go through the three resources in a bit more detail. When you log into the game, you will be asked to choose your first precon deck from the three resources. You will be able to buy the other precons later using gold or shards. For many alpha players who experienced a pre-beta reset, choosing their precon deck was a difficult choice to make. This guide will hopefully help both old and new players make their decision.
Growth
Growth is the most aggressive resource and has little to offer in terms of defence, but what Growth lacks in defence it more than makes up for in terms of synergy. Creature wise, there are the lesser Bunnies and Rats, the Kinfolk and Wolves.
The way Growth decks work is by overrunning the field with small creatures, which then buff the larger ones such as Great Wolf and Kinfolk Jarl. When Growth has enough units on the field, the player can then focus on countdown resets which Growth seems to have an abundance of. This means that when Growth has reached this level of control, it’s very difficult for an opponent to recover.
There are a lot of attack boosting scrolls, such as Ancestral Totem, Champion Ring and Crimson Bull. This means that even the weaker creatures can become a problem for the opposing player. It also allows unexpected attacks where a player may have left a unit unguarded, believing that the damage wouldn’t be sufficient enough to destroy them.
Growth also has field wipes in the forms of Quake and Frost Gale, allowing the player to regain control of the field. Once the field has been wiped, they can then draw scrolls using Sister of the Fox and Fertile Soil.
Overall, Growth is aggressive and fast. However, it does have its weaknesses. For example, if the key units in a Growth deck (such as a Great Wolf) are removed in play, it can be difficult to maintain control of the field.
Order
Order has more of a balance between aggression and defence. Order’s strength comes from unit placement, forming ranks and buffing units. Orders creatures include Spearmen, Skirmishers, Infantrymen and Generals.
Order also has strong defensive structures, such as Waking Stones and Obelisk. These can be used to guard the attacking units such as Skirmishers. There is also Mangonel, which is Order's offensive structure and can be used as field wipe.
The Infantrymen, while not powerful by themselves can be used to buff other creatures. There are two types of Infantrymen, one buffs health while the other buffs attack. As they only buff the creatures on the same row, it is extremely important for someone playing Order to maintain ranks and keep units close together.
Order can also unleash quick, unexpected attacks. The Honorable General reduces adjacent units countdown by 2, triggering their attack. This can then be combined with an attack buff such as Royal Vanguard or focus.
One of the unique features of Order is the scrolls which affect units positioning. Scrolls such as Horn of Ages, New Orders, Flip and Pother may not seem that strong, but causing a unit to move infront of an attacking Skirmisher is an extremely effective strategy.
Overall, Order is well balanced and has the opportunity to devastate opposing players once ranks have been formed. However, Order's biggest challenge comes from decks which disrupt their formation.
Energy
Energy is the most defensive of the resources, and has the most effective structures. Most of Energy’s creatures have Ranged or Lobber, meaning that they can avoid certain affects such as Spiky or Vitorial Aura – which would affect a melee attacker. Creatures include Gravelocks, Automaton’s and the mighty Iron Orge.
Energy starts off a little slower than the other resources, but what it lacks in speed it more than makes up for in defence. Energy also has the most removal of the resources. With scrolls such as Inferno Blast and Thundersurge, Energy can devastate big groups of enemy units. It can also use Spark and Burn to remove any early aggressors and establish a line of defence (or attack).
The synergy between the Gravelocks can be dangerously overwhelming for an opponent to deal with. As the Elders buff each other’s attack and health, it is vital to keep them in play. The Cannon Automaton’s are extremely powerful as all damage dealt to them is decreased by 1. This makes them effective as both defence and offense.
Structure wise, Energy has a lot of offensive structures such as the Destroyer, Catapult of Goo and Ether Pump. These can not only deal damage to your opponent, but can also distract them while you place more creatures on the field. The Machine Priest can control them, while the Tool Initiate can increase their attack.
Energy also has powerful Spells and Enchantments such as Potion of Resistance and Plating, making it harder for the larger units to be destroyed. The Iron Orge is most powerful of the Energy creatures, but due to his 3 countdown reset he is not an easy scroll to play. In terms of countdown reset, Energy can make use of Bombard and Iron Whip.
Overall, while Energy is slow to start, due to the amount of removal and strong creatures – Energy is by no means weak.
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